The Rundown

With Presser, Obama Looks to Play Offense

By Ben Pershing
President Obama is in unfamiliar territory. The headlines are mostlybad and have been for about a week, a dynamic he hasn't faced more than a handful of times since he lost the New Hampshire primary more than 500 days ago.

No one inside or outside the White House would say Obama faces a real political crisis, but for a president who has enjoyed buoyant poll numbers and mostly positive media coverage for months, this rough stretch represents a genuine challenge. And so Obama will use the bully pulpit, calling a midday news conference (the networks must be thrilled it's not in prime time) in hopes of regaining the initiative on Iran, health care and the economy.

"You can't score points on D," Andrew Malcolm points out in the Los Angeles Times. Obama's need to play offense has been illustrated by a series of recent polls, the latest being the Washington Post-ABC News survey that showed confidence in the effectiveness of the economic stimulus measure ebbing. Overall, Obama's average job approval rating has been ticking down steadily since late April.

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THE BUSH-ERA "EXTRAJUDICIAL TARGETING AND PUNISHMENT NETWORK" REMAINS IN PLACE...

..."MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATED ACTION" OPERATIONS AGAINST UNJUSTLY TARGETED AMERICANS DEEMED TO BE DISSIDENTS, TROUBLEMAKERS, OR SLANDERED AS SOCIAL DEVIATES.

THIS NATIONWIDE SYSTEM OF VIGILANTE INJUSTICE POSES A CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO AMERICAN DEMOCRACY -- AND TO THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY.

The Bush-Cheney "multi-agency action" extrajudicial vigilante network and a related unconstitutional array of "programs of personal destruction" remain in place -- operating in virtually every community in the U.S., aided and abetted by local authorities.

President Obama may not even be aware of some of the deeply entrenched "ops" that threaten his presidency...